Before 2025 fully wrapped up, we polled our readers to vote for their favorite extreme metal release from a handful of our nominations.
The winner of The Best Extreme Metal Album of the Year is…
Subnormal Dives by Byonoisegenerator
Formed in the Perm Krai region of Russia over a decade ago, the sound of Byonoisegenerator boasts a bold fusion of grindcore and jazz. We spoke to founding drummer Roman Nox about the project’s extensive influences and history that led up to this extreme and groundbreaking new record.
While Nox was already fluent in playing heavy music, he explains that the vision of Byonoisegenerator emerged when he became interested in “the new wave of jazz in the form of such performers as Gilad Hekselmann, Mark Guiliana, Tyshawn Sorey, Brad Mehldau, Damion Reid, Ignat Kravtsov, Alexander Mashin… I wanted to combine one favorite style with another.” The rest of the band’s current lineup also have eclectic tastes, with vocalist Tim aligning with post-punk and electroclash, guitarist Halo and bassist M1t being fans of Primus and mathcore, and saxophonist Shela, naturally, is big on late post-bop and Coltrane.
Across their career, Nox notes the Byonoisegenerator European tour as “unforgettable,” including performances in Spain, Portugal, France, and Switzerland. Nox also fondly recalls how the band were taught to cook and drink Kalimotxo in Spain – “we brought the recipe for this drink with us to Russia and still prepare it at home.”
Subnormal Dives was released via the Indian label Transcending Obscurity Records, home to some of my personal favorite acts including Et Moriemur, Cutterred Flesh, and Jupiterian, yet Nox shares his fandom for his labelmates Morgue Supplier and Floating.
Moving forward, Byonoisegenerator is keeping the momentum at full speed. Nox adds “at the moment, we have some decent material that we would like to perform and present to listeners around the world, so right now live performances come first… but perhaps there will be something new from us soon.” ‘Subnormal Dives’ by Byonoisegenrator is available on Bandcamp, CD, and colored vinyl.